CRUEL KEV'S SCUTTELBUTT

FROM SAINT PAUL, THE CAPITAL OF MINNESOTA

Friday, December 30, 2016

California Democrats Legalize Child Prostitution

Beginning on Jan. 1, child prostitution will be legal in the streets of California. In fact, police officers in the state will be banned from arresting any person under the age of 18 for soliciting or loitering with intent, according to Senate Bill 1322. California Gov. Jerry Brown signed the bill on Sept. 26, and it will go into effect Sunday. The law also requires police to report allegations of child prostitution to county child welfare agencies. Advocates of the law say it will help child victims of sex trafficking get treatment rather than sending them to juvenile hall and tagging them with a rap sheet for prostitution. State Sen. Holly J. Mitchell, D-Los Angeles, who introduced the bill, said, “The law is supposed to protect vulnerable children from adult abuse, yet we brand kids enmeshed in sex-for-play with a scarlet ‘P’ and leave them subject to shame and prosecution. This is our opportunity to do what we say is right in cases of sex trafficking: stop the exploiters and help the exploited.” But Travis Allen, a Republican lawmaker representing the 72nd Assembly District in the California Legislature, warned of the fallout from what he called a “terribly destructive legislation that was written and passed by the progressive Democrats who control California’s state government.” “Teenage girls (and boys) in California will soon be free to have sex in exchange for money without fear of arrest or prosecution,” Allen wrote in a column published by the Washington Examiner. Allen acknowledged that Democrats sincerely believe the law will help child sex victims, but he issued a dire warning about the “immoral” consequences of decriminalizing child prostitution. “Unfortunately, the reality is that the legalization of underage prostitution suffers from the fatal defect endemic to progressive-left policymaking: it ignores experience, common sense and most of all human nature — especially its darker side,” Allen explained.

“The unintended but predictable consequence of how the real villains — pimps and other traffickers in human misery — will respond to this new law isn’t difficult to foresee. Pimping and pandering will still be against the law whether it involves running adult women or young girls. But legalizing child prostitution will only incentivize the increased exploitation of underage girls. Immunity from arrest means law enforcement can’t interfere with minors engaging in prostitution — which translates into bigger and better cash flow for the pimps. Simply put, more time on the street and less time in jail means more money for pimps, and more victims for them to exploit.” Other experts agreed with Allen’s assessment. Paul Durenberger, an assistant chief district attorney in Sacramento County who oversees human trafficking cases, told the Sacramento Bee in February that the legislation is similar to “bills that a trafficker would want to write to protect themselves.” Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley, a respected leader on the issue of human trafficking, said the law “just opens up the door for traffickers to use these kids to commit crimes and exploit them even worse.” The Bee noted that a program in Sacramento already relocates sexually exploited children from juvenile hall to treatment programs. Upon completion of the programs, child sex victims are cleared of charges. Allen argued that when police officers take child prostitutes into custody, it helps young sex-trafficking victims escape their abusers. “Minors involved in prostitution are clearly victims, and allowing our law enforcement officers to pick these minors up and get them away from their pimps and into custody is a dramatically better solution than making it legal for them to sell themselves for sex,” he wrote. “That only deepens their victimization and renders law enforcement powerless to stop the cycle of abuse. SB 1322 is not simply misguided — its consequences are immoral.” California’s sex trafficking industry is notoriously large. In 2016 so far, there have been 307 cases of trafficking involving children and teens reported to the National Human Trafficking Resource Center. In 2015, the federal government selected Sacramento as one of six U.S. cities to flagship a national enforcement team focused on stopping human trafficking.

Saturday, December 03, 2016

On Sunday Austria To Choose Between Globalism Or Populism

On Sunday the people of Austria will vote one again for the new President of the country and the choice has come down to an anti-mass migration populist and a left wing globalist. This year’s Austrian presidential election has been the longest in the history of Austria’s second republic and is finally coming to an end on Sunday after controversy and scandal. The Austrian voters have two choices for their new head of state, the anti-mass migration populist Norbert Hoferof the Freedom Party or the Left wing pro-European Union candidate Alexander Van der Bellen. The first round of the election in April saw a massive shake up in the Austrian political scene as Mr. Hofer won the vote with Van der Bellen coming in second. The election was notable for excluding the two establishment parties, the Austrian People’s Party and the Socialist Party from the second round. The second round a month later was too close to call on election night with a slight lead for Norbert Hofer. After the counting of the postal votes, Alexander Van der Bellen was proclaimed President by a mere 31,000 votes. The victory was not to last as investigations and inquiries from the FPÖ showed serious discrepancies regarding the counting and handling of the postal ballots and the vote was annulled by the courts. Though the initial rerun of the was scheduled for October 2nd, the same day as the Hungarian migrant referendum, faulty postal ballot envelopes delayed the vote until this Sunday, December 4th.

The two candidates are the most apart on ideas of any recent Austrian election. Norbert Hofer is running on a platform for securing Austria’s borders, improving the readiness of Austrian authorities regarding terrorism, liberalization of the economy, and pro-gun legislation. Hofer’s ideas have attracted a slew of new voters for the Freedom Party including many working class men and women who have traditionally voted socialist. Hofer has also expressed interest in re-engaging with Russia, supporting U.S. president-elect Donald Trump’s willingness to resume better relations with the nuclear power. He has also expressed an interest in Austria joining the Visegrad Group (V4), which includes Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. The group has been notable for having a firm stance against the redistribution of migrants and has supported the reinforcement of the political bloc’s external borders. His opponent Alexander Van der Bellen is an ex-leader of the left-wing Green Party and a former professor. Mr. Van der Bellen is pro-European Union and wants to see more federalisation, which critics have said will lead to Austria becoming merely a region of a centralized EU. Van der Bellen has also vowed not to allow the FPÖ to form the government even if they win the most votes in the next Austrian federal election. Despite Van der Bellen’s campaign posters which highlight his patriotism for the Austrian countryside many have criticized him for presiding over a Green Party campaign in 2007 that claimed, “anyone who loves Austria is Sh*t.” Currently, polls are too close to call the race between the pair, but bookmakers have placed their money behind a victory for Norbert Hofer and an extremist left-wing march Saturday could, according to critics of the march, give even more votes to Hofer.